Due Diligence Increases Energy Savings, Overall Value of Award-Winning Metropolitan Tower Chiller Upgrade
On March 7, Brown Engineers and Flake & Kelley Commercial accepted an Engineering Excellence Award from ACEC/Arkansas*, for their energy efficient retrofit of the chilled water system at the Metropolitan Tower in downtown Little Rock.
- Maggie Hogan of Flake & Kelley and Brown’s Mark Eakin
Before this upgrade, the 40-story office tower relied on a system that for the most part dated to its original 1986 construction. It was obsolete, increasingly expensive to maintain, and inefficient.
Flake & Kelley Commercial received several vendor proposals for replacement of two big chillers with multiple smaller chillers: a good approach to increase efficiency, reduce operating cost, and improve redundancy.
Flake & Kelley used excellent due diligence, asking Brown Engineers to review the proposals before making their selection.
This engineering review, a relatively modest investment, helped Flake & Kelley:
- avoid costly design errors–some proposed upgrades didn’t even fit the space!
- identify the best option for energy efficiency and overall return on investment
- dramatically increase overall project value with strategic, cost-efficient add-ons
- reduce annual energy usage by 15%
- qualify for a substantial energy rebate
Do you need to replace your aging, inefficient MEP infrastructure, too? What would an energy-efficient retrofit cost–and what could it save? Which vendor solutions would work better for you–and which might not work at all?
Brown Engineers would LOVE to help you answer those questions. Contact Mark Eakin to learn how an unbiased proposal review can help you go green–and save green, too.
Photo of Ms. Hogan and Mr. Eakin courtesy of Steve Brawner and ACEC/Arkansas. Used by permission.
*ACEC/Arkansas: Arkansas Chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies
